STUDY SHOWS ELEPHANTS LIFE ARE NEGATIVELY AFFECTED IN ZOOShttp://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98184820
Although elephants remain safe from poaching and land destruction in captivity, I discovered alarming information regarding elephants life in the zoo. According to a report from npr, studies show that elephants live shorter lives in zoos. I posted this in response to a comment, which I assumed elephants lived longer in zoos. The study observed European zoos between a period of over forty years. The results show that elephants in the European zoos died by the age of 50 contradicting the normal lifespan of 70 years. I also learned from this article that Asian elephants face more danger with loss of species than the African elephant (although both are endangered). United States zoos calculated an even shorter life expectancy, the average ranging in the late forties. Critics argue that the elephants still recieve satisfactory food and medical service. They believe the report does not acknowledge the improvement in care at the zoos. Overall, it differs per zoo and the Asian elephants are at more a risk than African elephants. Scientists express the need to identify how to improve life in captivity and extend the life expectancy. Click on the link to read more on the story and watch the video. Hope this answers your questions. Picture from:http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98184820 shows an elephant in a European zoo
Although elephants remain safe from poaching and land destruction in captivity, I discovered alarming information regarding elephants life in the zoo. According to a report from npr, studies show that elephants live shorter lives in zoos. I posted this in response to a comment, which I assumed elephants lived longer in zoos. The study observed European zoos between a period of over forty years. The results show that elephants in the European zoos died by the age of 50 contradicting the normal lifespan of 70 years. I also learned from this article that Asian elephants face more danger with loss of species than the African elephant (although both are endangered). United States zoos calculated an even shorter life expectancy, the average ranging in the late forties. Critics argue that the elephants still recieve satisfactory food and medical service. They believe the report does not acknowledge the improvement in care at the zoos. Overall, it differs per zoo and the Asian elephants are at more a risk than African elephants. Scientists express the need to identify how to improve life in captivity and extend the life expectancy. Click on the link to read more on the story and watch the video. Hope this answers your questions. Picture from:http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98184820 shows an elephant in a European zoo
ELEPHANTS IN THE MOVIES: Check out the Disney movie Earth opening on April 22 (also Earth Day) which features the life of the elephant.
*More to come discussing life in captivity and the elephants food web *
*INTERESTING FACT : Elephants enjoy to examine tusks and bones from other dead elephants (1) .*
It's interesting that elephants live shorter lives in the zoo because it seems to be the opposite for many endangered animals.
ReplyDeleteWow, this is incredible. It's terrible the way the zoo could be speeding up the process of extinction for the elephant. Maybe it's better to be on their own.
ReplyDeleteI am a little confused as to why elephants live shorter lives in zoos?
ReplyDeleteI agree! When I receievd a question that asked if elephants lived longer in captivity I said yes but while researching I discovered this was not entirely true. It was surprising and interesting to find this information contradicting my first conclusion.
ReplyDeleteThat's really interesting that elephants live shorter lives in zoos. I would have expected that they would live a longer life, like other endangered animals.
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ReplyDeleteAlyssa- Yes well this is just a study but I was shocked also.
ReplyDeleteAlex- It's interesting because the article never actually states the cause that contributes to the loss of elephants. According to this article the zoos need to improve with their health and food services. It is a study (not true for all zoos), so I'm sure scientists are still researching the causes for this discovery.
Wow that's a 20 year difference! That's really sad yet interesting. Hopefully scientists and researchers figure out what's affecting these elephants with their health and the food they are consuming.
ReplyDeleteStephanie- I know, I hopes so too! Hopefully its only these couple zoos and not the world!
ReplyDeleteThats interesting about the zoos. I never thought that being in captivity would be a harm for a species. But then again, species live in the wild for a reason and can manage to live on their own without the help of humans, so maybe our involvement in their lives is the problem.
ReplyDeleteI would have never guessed captivity could shorten the lifespan of an animal. To me, that sparks an interest to ask the question do most animals in captivity live shorter lives in capitivty vs the wild and what is causing them to die younger.
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